National Music Theater Institute Planned For O'Neill Center

FRANK RIZZOHartford Courant

To capitalize on the increasing interest by young people in the area of music theater, Waterford’s Eugene O’Neill Theater Center is launching this fall a new division of the National Theater Institute called the National Music Theater Institute.

NMTI will be a 14-week conservatory-like training program offered twice a year with classes seven days a week. The program aims to be “a springboard for those pursuing a career in music theater to hone their craft, find their voice, and meet with like-minded collaborators.”

The O’ Neill’s annual National Music Theater Conference, under artistic director Paulette Haupt, has developed dozens of musicals over the decades, including the award-winning shows such as “Nine,” “Avenue Q,” “[title of show]” and “In The Heights.”

The O’Neill, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, is undergoing a major campus expansion, providing seven new dormitories, a state-of-the-art rehearsal hall, and additional production and rehearsal space to accommodate the fall 2014 semester.